Link – Cosplay of the Day

Since we started off with Princess Zelda, it's only appropriate that we also feature the silent wonder, Link!

Today's cosplayers are Nikki Cosplay, a brother/sister duo that hail from New York City and rock some pretty kick-ass Legend of Zelda suits. Featured here are their portrayals of Link and Dark Link from one of the series' most beloved titles, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. And we also have Nikki's coif-tacular outfit from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

A lot of people who aren't well-versed in the game series' lore always make the mistake of referring to our green tunic-wearing hero as "Zelda", the name of the princess. This is not so; Link is not a girl. But in our Cosplay of the Day's case, Nikki totally is a girl and she pulls off the Hero of Time's look quite well. As a bonus, her brother Tony provides a nice contrast by portraying Dark Link, a recurring character that's a manifestation of the hero's dark side.

Nikki Cosplay has been in the cosplay game since 2010, two years after Nikki first attended the 2008 New York Anime Festival. Up until that point, she had no idea what cosplay was, but was quickly introduced to the art. This event, coupled with her long-standing love of video games, resulted in her very first cosplay outfit.

"I was blown away by the costumes! And since video games were a huge part of my childhood I was like, 'I'm going to be Link!' So I got to work on my first cosplay ever and from there I loved it, so I kept on making more!" said Nikki, describing her foray into the world of cosplay.

One of the most impressive aspects of Nikki's cosplay is the work she put into her hair, in order to accurately represent A Link to the Past's Link as he appears in-game. If you look closely, you'll see that she's not wearing a wig. Those pink tresses are all Nikki.

"I cosplayed LTTP Link because I knew the gameplay version of Link had pink hair, but I'd never seen anyone do it properly! So I made sure to be the pink-haired Link from LTTP to bring light to a factor of the game that no one notices!"

It's always refreshing to see someone who takes their craft very seriously. You can check out more of Nikki Cosplay's stellar work on Facebook and deviantART!